Sources are hearing that a federal grand jury in San Diego is investigating the death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, an undocumented immigrant who was beaten and tased by border officials in 2010 at the San Ysidro border crossing.

His death has garnered widespread attention, with protests in several states, online petitions with thousands of signatures asking the government for a full investigation, a nationally televised documentary and a letter from some members of Congress urging action by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Grand juries are typically convened in secret. They review evidence to determine if a criminal case can be pursued.

Mitchell Rivard, a Justice Department spokesman, on Wednesday told The Associated Press that an investigation is ongoing and declined further comment.

Hernandez Rojas, 42, had been deported after living in the Encanto area for more than two decades and was trying to return to San Diego when the Border Patrol apprehended him. Border agents were returning him to Mexico through the San Ysidro Port of Entry when the tasing occurred.

Customs and Border Protection officials have said Hernandez Rojas was combative, a description disputed by witnesses who shot cellphone video of the incident. Those witnesses said Hernandez Rojas, while hog-tied, screamed for help while he lay on the ground surrounded by more than a dozen officers and agents before he was tased several times.

The San Diego County medical examiner’s autopsy report ruled the death a homicide. Hernandez Rojas had a heart attack, and the medical examiner said it was not clear how much the beating, stun gun use, a heart condition and/or methamphetamine found in his system were to blame.

Attorney Eugene Iredale, who is representing the Hernandez Rojas family, told The Associated Press that the Justice Department has been presenting evidence to a grand jury. Investigators are expected to hear from eyewitnesses today, including Humberto Navarette, whose cellphone video was widely circulated, and a Seattle woman who also shot video footage while walking back into the U.S. that night from Tijuana.

Hernandez Rojas’ widow, Maria Puga, on Wednesday welcomed movement in the case. She hopes the outcome of any investigative proceedings will confirm what she has believed all along — that her husband was the victim of excessive force.

“It pleases me that they are doing something. We hope for a good outcome, for justice. It’s time,” said Puga, who still lives in Encanto with the couple’s five children.

Around Mother’s Day this year, Hernandez Rojas’ mother and brother traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask Department of Justice officials for a comprehensive investigation.

Those meetings seemed to have made a difference, said Andrea Guerrero, director of the Equality Alliance, a community organization focused on immigrant and human-rights issues.

“It’s a positive development, it’s an indication that the Department of Justice is taking it seriously,” Guerrero said. “We are cautiously optimistic that this will lead to an indictment.”